


Tea

by ChristmasRivers



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Canon, Gen, New Special Operations Squad | New Squad Levi, Pretend whatever alternate timeline in the manga-verse makes you happiest and insert scene, Squad Levi Love, Tea, if the title hadn't already given it away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 03:38:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9053659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristmasRivers/pseuds/ChristmasRivers
Summary: Levi's squad catches him off guard with an unexpected gift of tea and something more.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back in March to be a parallel piece to the birthday fic I wrote in honor of Eren, [Apples](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6443644). No clear place in the manga timeline, just sometime after Historia is crowned and Levi and the gang are out on their own again.

Tea.

There was a tin of tea sitting in the middle of his his bed. And not just any kind of tea. One of his favorite brands. An expensive brand. A brand from the interior so difficult to acquire he hadn’t found any for years.

He had had a tin of this brand that he would occasionally brew whenever the mood struck him–whenever he was having an especially good day, whenever he was having an especially bad day, whenever he especially needed to take a shit–but with everything that had happened since their last expedition, he had lost track of it. It had been nearly empty anyway.

The solid weight of the tin he picked up off his bed told him this was most definitely not the tin he had lost. This one was full. And one whiff of the heady aroma that hit him when he removed the lid to inspect the leaves told him it was fresh; this was not only newly purchased, it must have been newly packaged as well. Months of drinking mostly stale quality tea, followed by months of drinking entirely stale crappy teas, had blocked from Levi’s memory how wonderful the scent of freshly cured tea was. His mouth watered in spite of himself at the promise of what this fresh tea would would taste like brewed.

Glancing down at his bed he noticed a note that had to have been under the tin. Unfolding it revealed a hasty scrawl Levi recognized as Eren’s handwriting. He nearly clicked his tongue at the nigh-illegible mess, but the sound died on his lips as the words jumped out at him.

_Levi Heishichou,_

_Happy Birthday from the entire squad! We remembered that you used to drink this particular brand a lot so we all decided to pitch in and buy this tin for you. We hope you enjoy it and thanks for everything._

Beneath that there was a post script in another handwriting, the precise and even handwriting Levi was accustomed to seeing on squad plans and memos. Armin’s handwriting.

_P.S. We managed to track down a reliable seller just inside Stohess district. Whenever you’re looking to reorder, let me know and I’ll set you up with where to go and/or who to contact. -Armin_

Beneath that was _another_ postscript in a hasty, loopy hand Levi knew to be Jean’s.

_P.P.S. Sasha drove a hard bargain to get this for what we could afford with our military salaries, and I had a pretty heavy hand in the bargaining myself. So when you go to buy more, don’t be afraid to haggle with that guy to get a good price. Or better yet take Sasha and me with you. We’ll beat down his price as many times as you need us to. -Jean_

Actually now that he was reading it, he realized most of the note _was_ post scripts, and he went to shake his head before the final lines gave him pause.

_P.P.P.S. Come on down for dinner as soon as your ready, heichou!!_

Levi frowned at the over-enthusiastic scribbles he could only guess were Sasha or Connie’s hand - easy enough to read, but the intent less than decipherable. They must have planned for him to find this just before dinner, but as far as he could tell they hadn’t been making anything out of the ordinary when he had walked past the kitchen on his way to the stairs not but five minutes ago.

Claiming the tin with the intent to make the tea as soon as he figured out what mischief that last line might entail, Levi made his way downstairs into the kitchen that also doubled as an eating space with its long table.

The first thing that struck him when he walked into the room was that dinner was already on the table and every member of his squad was already seated. Usually, by this time of day, the members of his squad were still energetically squawking and sniping at each other as they scrambled to finish chores and prep food before the sun set. And more often than not he would have to call outside to stop Mikasa chopping wood, he would have to go out himself to bring Jean and Connie in from caring for the horses, or he would need to hover in the kitchen to stop Sasha from stealing all the food before it made it to the table. Often it would be many long minutes before they all came together to finish dinner preparations and sit down to eat.

But, for the first time in his memory, miraculously everyone was there, all at the same time, and all patiently waiting for _him_ to sit down. The food itself looked amazing–as amazing as their limited supplies and limited choices could allow–and Levi had no doubt that Sasha and Jean had taken the lead in putting together the top-notch meal, and that everyone had pitched in that extra little bit to get it to the table on time.

The next thing he noticed was that one member of his squad that wasn’t in their spot. Instead, Mikasa stood by Levi’s place at the table with a dented tea kettle in one hand and a chipped mug in the other. She met his eyes with her usual "impassive, but respectful" expression. If anything the glint of respect looked brighter than usual as she gave him a nod. Eren, who sat across from her to the right of Levi’s place, met Levi's eyes unwaveringly and there was no lessening to the respect and devotion Levi was accustomed to seeing in his expression whatsoever. Looking down the table–to Connie and then Sasha, to Armin, and to Jean – Levi found nothing but respect and appreciation in each of their faces. Just as the silence and staring was beginning to feel awkward, Levi heard Mikasa murmur from his left, “Could I pour you some tea, heichou?”

Levi nodded and sat himself stiffly, but within seconds of the tea hitting the cup he could smell the heady aroma of his favorite brand, the same one in the tin still clutched in his right hand. He set the tin on the table in full view of everyone as Mikasa returned the kettle to the center of the table then settled into her seat. There was beat of silence in which no one stirred and no one spoke, before Levi finally looked up and said to no one in particular but to everyone in the room: “Thank you.”

All at once the table broke out in murmurs of “you’re welcome, heichou” and calls to dig in and loud protests as Sasha tried to pile half the mashed potatoes onto her plate. Just as his squad broke out into a frantic hustle to grab a serving of each dish _,_ Levi smiled, actually smiled, for the first time since day Historia was crowned. No one caught the expression as he hid it behind a sip of that delicious tea, but that was fine by him. He paused, then took another long sip. Hmm. The tea was better than he had remembered it. Interesting. It didn’t really taste any different–if maybe little fresher than the last time he’d tasted it–but maybe…

 _Tch._ He reached for the kettle, hiding another barely there smile as he poured his next cup.

**Author's Note:**

> My SnK writing tumblr is [verbostrocity](http://verbostrocity.tumblr.com/). Read, reblog and like this oneshot on tumblr [here](http://verbostrocity.tumblr.com/post/154910942637/tea). Visit my writing blog for more of my writing, previews and updates ;)


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